Re-Commit to Your Financial Goals

My friend Dave gave me an in-flight magazine from Southwest Airlines the other day, because he wanted me to read an article about Alex Sheen, founder of Because I Said I Would. Alex started the movement after his father passed away as a tribute to him, because his father was a man of his word…a man who always kept his promises. Not sure if Dave was trying to tell me something. 🙂

The premise is simple: You write down a promise on one of their cards…whether that’s a promise to someone else or yourself. Then you give the card to someone who holds it until you fulfill your promise.

What a simple but powerful tool.

I think we are all guilty of setting goals or intentions for ourselves, but sometimes fail to see them through for one reason or another. We may say we are doing whatever it takes to get out of debt, save money, look for a new job, etc., but then we get distracted, or even make excuses. Believe me, I’m guilty of it too.

And with the upcoming holidays, this is when people tend to go off the rails. So if you have a holiday budget, what are you going to do to make sure you actually stick to it? I think little expenses that we didn’t think about start to creep up…that bottle of wine you needed to buy for your boss’s holiday party, or the extra costs in gas because you’re visiting relatives all over the state.

I think now is the perfect time to re-commit to not only your financial goals, but all of your goals. As we all know, people have a tendency to wait until January 1st (after a lot of damage is already done) to get back on track.

That is awesome! I love the idea behind this movement – and it’s really touching that he started it in honor of his dad. I love your “because you said you woulds,” too. Mind would be, I will turn freelance writing into a full-time career so we can live overseas, because I said I would 🙂 Oh, and thank you so much for the link love! I appreciate it!

That would be a surprise….there’s no hot water in the plumbing anymore. LOL. Stranger things have happened though, and i love kids. 🙂

Cait Flanders

HA! And you’re a great dad. 🙂

Leslie Beslie

This is great! In September I found myself saying “I want to do more of ___ but it’s so late in the year I’ll just wait until January” !! There was still 4 whole months left in the year! What a terrible form of procrastination. Goals don’t have time-frames! Good luck with yours!

Yeah I think this time of year it’s easy to let go of that hard work ethic because of the holidays. Thanks and good luck with your goals as well!

alwayshungry4

Man, this couldn’t have come at a better time!! I love your commitments, especially with making percentage contributions to your various savings accounts a priority – I’ll have to add that to my list. Thanks so much for including me, your words couldn’t have come at a better time to re-focus!

Mine sounds backwards but I will stop feeling bad about spending money on myself.

For two years, I felt so guilty about every dollar I spent on myself, because I had this huge debt looming over me that I was also trying to repay. Now that I’m debt-free, I want to stop feeling guilty about buying a new eye shadow or a new pair of jeans. I’m still the kind of shopper who’s only going to spend $6 and $30 on those things, respectively, and if it’s in my budget then that’s ok!

I’m working on some personal goals that I decided needed some effort – started this a couple weeks ago. Now just to not let them go by the wayside!

debtfreeoneday

I will track all my expenses, do my best to make extra debt repayments, not go over my budget during the holiday period and start saving a little for retirement before Christmas… because I said I would! Great post Tonya and thanks so much for mentioning my post in your link love! 🙂

jefferson @seedebtrun

i think this is a fantastic tool.. with someone else holding the card, you will certainly be more likely to stick to your goals.

i know that i have said this to you before.. but be careful with spreading yourself too thin!! many would advice you to stick to one big goal at a time or you risk burning out on all of them 🙂

I love this idea as a means of accountability. We need that sometimes to push us towards completion of our goals. I’ve got a big goal for 2014 but I will have to fill it in the blank in my head. Want to keep it private just a bit longer. Oooh…secrets, I know.

I love this!! It’s all about integrity and doing what you say. Also, a huge thank you for the shout and Link Love 🙂

Mike GetRichWithMe

Erin @ my alternate life and I – have exactly the same goals

“”I will continue to aggressively pay off my debt, rebuild my emergency fund to $1,000, seek out more clients, and spend more time on my blog because I said I would””

Student Debt Survivor

So simple, but so powerful! I really need to sit down and start thinking about my next set of financial (and personal goals). In particular I just bought the T25 workout DVD set and I’m really motivated to get back into shape. Tomorrow I’m going grocery shopping for healthy food and I’m going to try to re-commit to healthy eating and working out.

Micros Missions

My training plan has also been on the fritz a bit. I have no problem with my Saturday runs but Wednesdays have been a problem. Mainly because I’m hungry after I get home from work and then afterwards, I don’t want to run on a full stomach. Curse you delicious food.

Catherine

Oh I love this! I will work my hardest towards continuing to pay our debt off. I will get my online life as organized as my real life and I will stick with running into 2014!

Kyle James

Love this Tanya!

Come Jan 1st I will be in better shape than I am right now because I said I would.

Fit is the New Poor

Love this concept! Mine is “I will organize our home office within the next week… because I said I would!” (Someone check in with me this week and yell at me if I haven’t started!)

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